Baseball is a popular sport and exercise in many countries such as the United States, Mexico, Canada, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Venezuela, and Japan. Usually a baseball game must be played by nine baseball players per team. If only one person desires to play baseball, a problem arises of not having at least a pitcher, a catcher and a batter (hitter) for batting practice by a player. To overcome this problem in the prior art, a baseball server for a single user was developed to eliminate the need for a pitcher and a catcher. In one prior art patent, the baseball server throws a baseball which has a flying path simulating the traveling path of the baseball from a pitcher. However, this prior art baseball server needs a larger area for use, so that it is inconvenient for many users.
Another problem occurs when a user plays batting practice in a self-batting format with no mechanical equipment involved, wherein the batter throws a baseball upwards and then hits the baseball with a bat. The flight path of the baseball will be affected by the behavior of the batter such that the flight path of the baseball is either unfair or beneficial to the batter and does not represent a proper swinging movement by the batter. Moreover, after the baseball is thrown upward, the user must then hold and swing the bat quickly, often missing the thrown upward and arching baseball. This time period is too short for the batter to react quickly for a proper swinging movement.
There remains a need for a tee-ball server apparatus having a delivery mechanism for automatically delivering a ball to a predetermined height onto a ball seat member in order for the batter to hit the ball from the tee-ball server apparatus. The tee-ball server apparatus should also include means for actuating a movable rod within a server housing in order to move the ball to the predetermined height on the ball seat member.
The prior art does not disclose or teach such a tee-ball server apparatus using a novel delivery mechanism for automatically delivering a ball to a predetermined height for a batter to swing at the ball.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present to provide a tee-ball server apparatus having a delivery mechanism for moving a movable rod between a retracted position and an extended position to a predetermined height onto a ball seat member in order to hit a ball from the tee-ball server apparatus.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a tee-ball server apparatus having a worm gear assembly for propelling and moving the movable rod in an upward direction such that the batter is able to adequately swing the bat in order to hit the ball from the tee-ball server apparatus at an appropriate height.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a tee-ball server apparatus having a worm gear assembly for actuating a movable rod within a server housing in order to move the ball in an upward direction from a ball receiving seat member.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a tee-ball server apparatus that is simple to use, requires only a limited space, is easy to maintain, and is capable of withstanding everyday wear and tear.
A still further object of the present invention is to provide a tee-ball server apparatus that can be mass produced in an automated and economical manner and is readily affordable by the consumer.